Winter weather causes 50 car pile-up

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) - Winter weather caused a 50 car pile-up on Interstate-64 westbound, near Williamsburg, Va. late Wednesday morning. White-out conditions caused the pile-up.

“Its got to be 30, 40. You've got 1,2,3,4,5....you've got 15 here from what I can physically see,” said one driver.

Police reopened all lanes on I-64 westbound Wednesday afternoon. It took crews several hours to clear all the vehicles involved in the massive crash.

“My husband told me to stay home today and not go to work, but I was like 'I have to go sell for my job.' In retrospect, I should have stayed home," said one woman who swerved to avoid the collision.

State Police told WAVY.com seven people were transported to the hospital with minor injuries.

Newport News firefighters had to walk the mile-long wreck, going car to car to check on each person.

"I've been in the department 20 years and I've never seen a scene with 50 plus vehicles involved," said Battalion Chief Jay Culpepper.

The crash happened right in front of WAVY News 10's Lori Crouch and photojournalist Matt Mrozinski. They watched as accident victims went to check on others.

The Newport News Fire Department provided a bus to take those who could not move their vehicles to a warm place, to make calls and get coffee.